Arne Jacobsen’s Lily chair turns 50
The Lily turns 50
That the Lily was described as Arne Jacobsen’s “most elaborate chair” is a good primer on the Danish designer and architect’s aesthetic, and the simplicity of mid-century modern design as a whole. Unlike Jacobsen’s equally recognisable Egg and Swan chairs, the original 1968 Model 3108 didn’t even have arms. It got its nickname for its resemblance to the open petals of a lily’s flower; Jacobsen moonlighted as an enthusiastic botanist, landscape gardener and painter, travelling around Europe to paint foliage and flowers, adding their Latin names in his best neat pencil.
The Lily was redesigned for Denmark’s National Bank — arm rests were added — and it was unveiled at the Danish Furniture Fair in 1970. Known as Model 3208 or the Series 8, it was made from laminated veneer that underwent a nail-biting moulding process to achieve its distinctive curves. The Lily’s 50th anniversary this year is marked by a new version in natural walnut, something previously thought impossible to achieve without splitting the wood.
The Lily is also notable for being the last chair Jacobsen designed. In everything he did, the Scandinavian designer embodied the concept of gesamtkunstwerk — each aspect being part of a total work of art. He chose details such as the ashtrays in the rooms at the world’s first designer hotel, Copenhagen’s SAS Royal Hotel, and the species of fish in the ponds at St Catherine’s College, Oxford — both buildings he designed.
“People buy a chair,” he said once. “They don’t really care who designed it.” A halfcentury of hindsight would suggest otherwise. ○